Etiology • Unknown: a red patch that cannot be clinically attributed to
another condition • Contributing factors include tobacco use, alcohol consumption
Clinical Presentation • Red, often velvety, well-defined patch(es) • Most common on floor of mouth, retromolar trigone area,
another condition • Contributing factors include tobacco use, alcohol consumption
Clinical Presentation • Red, often velvety, well-defined patch(es) • Most common on floor of mouth, retromolar trigone area,
lateral tongue • Usually asymptomatic • May be smooth to nodular • Chiefly in males
Diagnosis • Appearance; history of tobacco/alcohol use • Biopsy results differentiate from inflammatory and atrophic
lesions
Differential Diagnosis • Erythematous (atrophic) candidiasis • Kaposi’s sarcoma • Ecchymosis • Contact stomatitis • Vascular malformation • Squamous cell carcinoma • Geographic tongue/erythema migrans
Treatment • Surgical excision if proven dysplastic/malignant
Prognosis • Fair to good depending upon microscopic diagnosis • Almost all cases are premalignant to malignant upon initial
discovery.